Flourish Forum
Tutorials => Digital Design => Topic started by: Erica McPhee on November 02, 2013, 02:11:50 AM
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Our first tutorial! I hope this helps. I tried to keep it as succinct as possible while also giving the details you need. Please ask any questions! And let me know what kinds of tutorials you'd like to see here at the forum!
http://youtu.be/mEUis8SHZvc
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Thanks Erica!!! Amazing to watch how others do their photoshop clean up. I do almost everything differently, so can't wait to try some of the tips you gave!!! I'll have several chances next week to put it to use! Will report back on how it went!
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Wonderful tutorial! Thank you for sharing - I am sure this will be so helpful to many! I also do some of the steps differently, but I am excited to try your method - it looks great!
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Great! I would *love* to hear how you all do your adjustment as well. There is no right or wrong way - just whatever works best for you. So I'd love to hear how others do it!
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Hi Erica,
Thank you so much for posting this. I am completely new to photoshop. I'll study the tutorial more, and I'll let you know how it's going.
Love,
Roseann
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Hi, Erica! Thanks for sharing your process; I loved hearing your voice! I do things differently as well, but I especially look forward to trying these two tips you gave: minimum pixel and color overlay. (and FYI, I thought **I** was the worse housekeeper ever!) :D Jane
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Great Roseann! If you get stuck, just let me know and I'll try to walk you through it.
LOL Jane! I'm pretty sure that award goes to me. I'm famous for my "Stash and Dash" when anyone comes over. And no one can look at my ceiling fans! :D My voice - :-X UGH! :D But thank you!
I'll be making another video shortly on how to keep the shade in lettering (not pure black and white) and how to adjust the color on that as well. It's a little more involved and a completely different process.
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Erica,
What would happen if I just cleaned up the scanned version? Is it possible to erase the dust, and flecks? What would happen if I didn't transfer the calligraphy into it's own layer? How would it come out if I submitted it just like that? Would it print the background an off shade color, or would it print white?
Love,
Roseann
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Go Erica!!
The minimum one pixel thing is new for me, and I'm very glad to know about it now! The color overlay too...
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Joy, glad that is helpful!
Roseann - you can just clean up the scan, however, you may end up losing some thin lines. It depends upon how much contrast there is in your document. I like to letter in walnut ink which when scanned doesn't make for a good camera ready. However, sumi ink does.
Also, most printers are savy about what will and won't print well. So they should be able to look at what you submit and tell you if it will print OK.
You can erase some of the dust and noise. There are a few filters which do this automatically. Filter, noise, reduce noise. And also filter, noise, dust & scratches. However, both add a slight blur to the image or scan. You can overcome this by sharpening. Filter, sharpen, unsharp mask. I use the following settings:
Amount: 75-100%
Radius: 1.0 pixels
Threshold: 2 levels
Play around with the filters to see if there is one or the other you like or makes the best impact.
You can also use your eraser tool to erase unless it leaves the white showing through in which case I would use the clone tool. This will keep the same color as the background and go over whatever needs to be erased.
The healing brush and newer spot healing brush work great, too. You just touch where ever you want to erase and it replaces it with the background. Pretty slick!
Let me know if you have questions!
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Oooh! :) This is awesome!! I'll try scanning some (practice) calligraphy soon! And who knew it was so easy to add colour?! Thanks for sharing!!
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You're welcome! Isn't the color tip useful?! I was thrilled when I learned that as it made things so much easier. You can also add a gradient this way, too. It is very useful!
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Hello!
I tried going to BestBuy yesterday but I was surprised by how many different types of photoshop software are out there and the prices ranges from $79.99-$1200 :o :o :o
I didn't want to get the wrong one... I know there is a free trial for 30 days but if I do decide to get one which one do I get?? There's Photoshop Elements, lightroom, etc
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This is a great tutorial. Thank you!
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Hi Selle.A,
It really depends how you will use the software.
Photoshop Elements is for beginners, it will ease you into transitioning to the full Photoshop program, however it does have its limitations and many features will be missing.
Photoshop Lightroom is strictly for photography and photo library management.
Photoshop CC is the full version of the software, which is the latest version in the market. Erica is using a full version. I recommend getting the trial version for Photoshop CC and testing it out.
Hope that helps!
Hello!
I tried going to BestBuy yesterday but I was surprised by how many different types of photoshop software are out there and the prices ranges from $79.99-$1200 :o :o :o
I didn't want to get the wrong one... I know there is a free trial for 30 days but if I do decide to get one which one do I get?? There's Photoshop Elements, lightroom, etc
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Yes, Elsa is right. :) (Hi Elsa, by the way - love your web design!)
I started with Photoshop Elements (it used to come free with scanners!). But since I was a professional photographer, I bumped up to the full Photoshop. However, you probably could do everything you need to with Elements initially. I could even do actions in Elements. I believe everything I have done in the tutorials can be done in Elements (someone please correct me if I'm wrong - it's been a long time). But I agree with Elsa in trying out the free trial first.
If you are a student or homeschool your children, you can purchase Photoshop at a very good price at http://www.academicsuperstore.com.
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Hi Erica,
Tanks and I'm glad to be here :)
Yes, Elsa is right. :) (Hi Elsa, by the way - love your web design!)
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Thank you ladies!
Maybe I'll try the photoshop elements since I'm just doing calligraphy for a hobby.
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Hi Erica,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I like it here at the Forum and have started a new notebook dedicated to it.
I have a question about how to save something that is going to be sent off to a printer to be printed.......does it matter if you save it as a jpg, tiff etc I don't understand what half of those "things" mean (and obviously what they're even called).
I know saving as a PS file allows you to still work on your piece before flattening it, right?
Thank You ~
Lynda
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Hi Lynda,
So happy you are finding good information on the forum! :D
This is an excellent question and I am preparing a very descript answer for you. I will post it as soon as it is complete! :)
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Hi Lynda,
I posted the answer to your question under it's own topic: http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=114.0 (http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=114.0). If you have any questions, please post them in that topic. Thanks!
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This is great! I bring my lettering into Photoshop and do some of the same things but now I see I do them the hard way. Your way is much better! I did not know about threshold and color overlay...amazing! I can use those all the time.
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Thanks Kathleen! I am glad it is helpful!
Just remember the Threshold adjustment is to turn the work into true black and white. So what it does is force any "gray" areas into either black or white. It won't be the same for every piece of work (or every ink used). So 210 is just a rough starting guideline but you should adjust it based on how the lettering looks going higher or lower. You want a nice crisp, black line, without losing any hairlines and without noise being created.
I wish now I had included that in the video. So hopefully those watching will read the comments.
Thanks for your comment! :)
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No worries - just making me aware of that feature is enough! I'm mostly self taught in Photoshop and get around it pretty well. This video is a great starting off point for getting us going and giving us basic tips.
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Hi Erica!
I seem to have some difficulties with the magic wand tool. I tried to use it to transfer the word I cleaned up (after scanning) to a new document but whenever I use it, it would highlight the whole document I scanned instead of just the word I want. Also, another trouble I had with was the color overlay. I attached a screenshot to give you an idea. I used the lasso tool to transfer the word that I want instead of the magic wand. I'm thinking its because of the lasso tool that's why it's coloring the whole area?? Does that make sense?
Thanks!
Selle
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Hi Selle,
Yes, that is why - there is too much white still included with the lettering. The magic wand will typically choose the whole document if you haven't clicked right on the letter. So if you can, zoom in quite close, and then use the magic wand to click on the widest, blackest part of the lettering. Then change back to the black pointer tool to grab the selected lettering and pull it to the new document. You should get a little tiny pair of scissors when it is over the selection.
If you are still having trouble with the magic wand - check to see what your tolerance is set at (at the top along the top of your document). It is usually set around 32-36. For straight black and white, that should be fine. "Anti-alias" and "Continguous" should be checked but "Sample All Layers" should not be.
Let me know if that helps or if you are still having trouble. :)
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OH IT FINALLY WORKED! Ahhh Thank you so much Erica!!
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I do most things differently, too, but I tried your ideas as well.
One thing I can't get over is how ugly it all looks when zoomed in. The edges! Ugh. I had something printed and it looked just fine, but I still have the feeling that it shouldn't be quite so ugly and I'm afraid the zig-zaggy edges will show when printed on a larger scale.
As a graphic designer I'm used to smooth edges, but the threshhold command and also the levels adjustment (which I use instead) just kill the pixels in between black and white, which takes away many "filler pixels" and therefore the smoothness. I feel the need to fill this in with black again. :-[
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Yes, I understand what you mean. It especially looks horrible zoomed in. At 100%, it should look fine. But there is a very big difference between how it looks in Illustrator and in Photoshop so I understand what you are saying.
That is exactly what the threshold adjustment does - it forces all shades to either black or white - no inbetween. So there is a fine line ;) that is the right adjustment - too far over and you have excessive noise, not far enough and you lose lines.
If you were to print it on a larger scale, you very well could see the pixeled edges because it is not vector based. However, I have printed calligraphy on canvases over 16x20 with no pixels showing, just smooth calligraphy lines :D. But yes, no doubt, the potential is always there since it is indeed pixel based. :)
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I'd really love to see a scan of one of Joe Vitolo's works. I've never seen anything as smooth as his stuff.
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Indeed! He is masterfully skilled.
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Keeping in mind that I am working on a *very* old version of Photoshop at the moment, I did everything you said Erica to the best I could given that I don't have the exact same version. When I transfer my threshold words to the new document using the magic wand & scissors, I lose some of the thin lines...any ideas why?
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Hi! I'm going to guess it is because your wand tool is not selecting all of the lines because the lines are too thin. I would suggest a couple solutions. First, make note of the lines which are being lost. Then, go back in your history to before you do the threshold adjustment. Use the burn tool to go over those lines to darken them just a bit. Then when you do your threshold, watch those lines carefully to ensure you are going high enough so they are being converted to black lines while not so high that you create noise elsewhere. There is a fine line (no pun intended) between not enough and too much. :)
Also, be careful with how much burning you do as too much will also create noise once you do the threshold adjustment.
Then when you are using your magic wand, make sure to hold down the shift key and click on those areas that might not be selected with the first click. If it won't capture the line entirely, you can adjust the "tolerance" (increase) so it will capture more of the line.
Then once you have it all selected (you may have to zoom in to see if everything really is selected), then try to pull it into the new document.
Let me know if that helps or not. :)
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Gotcha! I will try that the next time I can get to trying that! LOL! It was so funny going back & forth to your tutorial & doing it step by step...I guess it all comes together eventually! :)
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Very informative. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge. It is invaluable
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Thanks, Erica. This is greatly appreciated!
I had never used the color overlay - much better than the paint bucket!!! :)
Cheers,
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Erica, thanks SO much for such a wonderful tutorial! I have PS and use it quite often, but I seem to have gotten in a rut with the tools I use, and after having seen your video, I realize that I haven't been doing things very efficiently! Your tutorial was spot on for me, and I really appreciated learning about the color overlay and minimum pixels. Can't wait to get home and give it a try on some of my calligraphy!
Debbie
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Sorry I didn't see your response Jana! Glad to be able to show you something new! I definitely like it better than the paintbucket as using the paintbucket eventually does degrade the line quality. :)
Thanks Debbie! I'm so happy it is useful and new! :D Let me know if you have any questions once you start working with it. :)
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Erica: Just found this video.....very helpful for a raw beginner!! Can't wait to try my first scan this weekend!! Appreciate you OH so much!!
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What a very helpful video. As someone who doesn't own Illustrator I am so thrilled to learn tricks with calligraphy in Photoshop! I found your color change tip and using threshold to be very valuable bits of information. Thank you so much Erica! I am so glad to be here! :D
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Thanks so much Merissa!
I'm considering doing some extensive tutorials for calligraphy and photoshop this winter so stay tuned. :)
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Adobe will sell you a license to use Photoshop CC 2014 and Lightroom for $10 a month, in their "photography" bundle. They have promised not to raise the price for a very long time. https://creative.adobe.com/plans/photography
Or you can buy Photoshop Elements for $99 outright. I don't think there is anything in the video above that you couldn't do with Elements, but get the Free Trial version and test it out. The big difference with Elements vs CC is the addition of Smart Objects, which are very worthwhile to learn and use but a bit advanced for a beginner. (For instance, in the video above, if the L layer was first converted to a smart object, you could resize it over and over with Free Transform without the constant pixel degradation - in other words, the third time you resized it would be just like the first time. This is useful for changing your mind when doing layouts. To convert a layer to being smart, right click on it and say "Convert to Smart Object".)
If you are intending to letterpress and need the pixels to remain B&W only, I'm pretty sure running Minimum is anti-aliasing the image (zoom in and you will see gray values along the edges).
It should be noted that unless you are outputting to letterpress where the printer has asked for B&W pixels, you would be better off using Levels rather than Threshold. Adjust the middle control/gamma adjustment in Input Levels to the right and the mid-gray values will darken, but don't go all the way to the max. This will darken/thicken the lines and reduce the number of grays without removing the grays completely. Antialiasing is a good thing to increase smoothness if you have enough resolution (it might help to bump up your resolution - ask your printer as Photoshop's upscaling algorithms are pretty good these days).
gah.
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Thank you very much for this tutorial! I am new here and am so happy to have stumbled across this forum. I have only ever used the paint bucket (which is very tedious if you want to change colours multiple times) and cannot wait to play with the color overlay!
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Erica, really would be thankful for some tutorials for calligraphy with Photoshop (Elements).
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Erica, can't wait to have your tutorials for using Photoshop. In the meantime, seems I read somewhere you have a video about Photoshop. Where could I find that?
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Erica, I've watched this video over and over again to complete some projects. Thank you so much for making sense of the photoshop mumbo-jumbo!
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Thanks EllenMarie! So happy to hear that! ;D
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What a fabulous tutorial! I saw this at lear a year ago and it was mumbo jumbo to me then, but NOW--it all makes sense! And I just want to give you a huge thank you hug! Thanks so much Erica, wonderful wonderful!
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LOL! Thanks Rebecca! I'm glad it's useful! ;D
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Just discovered this tutorial, will be practicing this weekend. My biggest crutch not knowing Photoshop. Thanks Erica!
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I am brand new to the forum and I am so excited about all the information available. These tutorials on digital are awesome! I have to learn photoshop now!
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Wow! Thanks for a lot for this. The process you shared is definitely a lot less tedious than what I currently do. I think following yours can save me a lot of time. I wish I'd seen this sooner! :)
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That is good to hear Rorie! I always love it when members bring up old posts like this because we have so many new members as we go along and others may benefit from it as well. ;D Good luck!
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Our first tutorial! I hope this helps. I tried to keep it as succinct as possible while also giving the details you need. Please ask any questions! And let me know what kinds of tutorials you'd like to see here at the forum!
Thanks for this video Erica! I spent a whole week trying to figure out how to do this. Wish I saw this video before trying to figure it out on my own. This simplifies everything in such a coherent way! Thank you for sharing the process!!!! SO EXTREMELY HELPFUL!
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I just recommended this video for what may be the 100th time, and realized I wasn't sure if I ever officially posted a thank you for it! So, thank you thank you! I cannot tell you how many times I've watched it, and what a valuable resource I've found it to be. Greatly appreciated!
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Hi Erica and others. Love this tutorial and have used it many times. All of a sudden when I am trying to select specific text with magic wand from the original, cleaned background and drag to new doc - magic wand is selecting all of the text. HELP. Anyone having this problem and know if I have hit something to cause this??? Thanks so much!!!!!
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Thank you so much for this tutorial. I always thought that digitizing would be so complicated that I have been afraid to try it. I think not being able to do it has held me back on a lot of my projects. This was so clear and easy to understand. I was even able to modify for photoshop elements. I feel like a whole new world has opened up. Thank you!!
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So glad this has been helpful for you all!
@kimd So sorry I didn't see this way back when. Are you still having trouble?
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Thanks, Erica, for the response. I don't know what was going on that day, never had the issue again. Ended up just shutting down my computer and reopening and it stopped. Go figure. It would not cooperate until I did that.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
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Whenever anything goes wrong in our house, my kids like to say, "Thank you for calling tech support. Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?" ;D
I'm glad it worked out. Happy Thanksgiving!